Roman Barkov

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For the character from Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, see Radoslav Barkov.

"I'm still here, Farah. Still alive... Still killing rats... I am Russia's protector. I will never allow thieves and crooks to terrorize my homeland... There can be no peace, without law and order... I told you, Farah, a long time ago, your country breeds terrorists... That's why you're here. Do you see it now? I was trying to protect Russia... I was trying to stop this... Now I see- I should have done more... You and your brother- I know what you are... I've always known."

— Roman Barkov last words.

General Roman D. Barkov (Russian: Роман Д. Барков) is one of the two main antagonists (alongside The Wolf) of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare.

He is described as "a rogue general that has the correct intentions but has gone off the rails in his effort to get what he wants" and compared to Colonel Kurtz from Apocalypse Now.

Campaign

A prominent General in the Russian Army, Roman Barkov launched an invasion of Urzikstan in the Middle-East in 1999 and employed the use of chemical gas that killed several unarmed civilians. Commanding his troops away from where the gas was deployed, Barkov managed to capture Farah and Hadir when they were only children after catching them trying to steal one of his trucks and killing two of his men. Barkov took them into his custody and had them both incarcerated as prisoners.

Ten years after the Invasion, the majority of the Russian forces had withdrew from Urzikstan thus leaving Barkov & his men responsible for maintaining peace & stability throughout the region. At this point on, Barkov's control of Urzikstan has become absolute. Claiming to bring peace and order to an unstable region, Barkov forced citizens to work in slave labor and have them listen to propaganda about maintaining order. He becomes aware of a resistance movement happening within the prison Farah and Hadir are kept in, and ruthlessly hunts down the movement's leader, "Karim". After Barkov's guards carry Hadir to the prison warehouse, Barkov interrogates Farah by waterboarding her. Barkov questions Farah about the identity of Karim, and tortures her until the answer is revealed: she is Karim. Barkov gives Farah a lecture about protecting Russia from the breeding of Urzkistan “terrorists" and strangles Farah. Barkov is interrupted when the base is attacked by Farah's summoned forces, and Barkov evacuates via helicopter as Farah and her comrades, with the help of SAS, escape the prison. Unbeknownst to Barkov, the Russian Government has been watching every move that Barkov has made in order to ensure that Urzikstan is stable.

In 2019, Barkov was on the watchlist of several Western intelligence agencies who could not take any direct action against him and his forces as he was still officially a General of the Russian Army, fearing that any actions taken against him would start an all-out war with Russia. Several covert operations were greenlit in order to undermine his power in the region, most recently a CIA operation in the city of Verdansk, in which SAD operative "Alex" and a squad of Marine Raiders raided one of Barkov's warehouses in which he stored chemical weapons. On November 3, 2019, the ULF along with the CIA & SAS launched an attack on Barkov's chemical factory in Bojormi, Georgia. Barkov, afraid of being captured, decides to flee to Moscow & get support from the government to help deal with the so-called terrorist attack in Georgia. Due to Barkov's actions in Urzikstan, Russia rejects his plead for help which ultimately leads to his death in the hands of Farah Karim. 

Gallery

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Younger Barkov as he appears in Captive.

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Barkov watching down on Farah.

Trivia

• Barkov's blood type is A+
• Strangely, his epaulets on his uniform correspond with Colonel instead of General.
• Barkov's uniform camo changes based on period, "Flora" in the mission Hometown set in 1999 and the current digital camo pattern he wears.
• He wears a Telnyashka undershirt, suggesting he is associated with VDV.